


118's got Talent

by Delilah2040



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck can dance, Eddie is competitive, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, blink and you'll miss it angst, dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24506863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delilah2040/pseuds/Delilah2040
Summary: The 118 decide to hold a talent show, no one knew Buck could dance and Eddie can't help but fall a little bit more in love with him for it.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) & Firehouse 118 Crew, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Firehouse 118 Crew, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 156





	118's got Talent

**Author's Note:**

> So I know things are a little bit bonkers in the fandom right now with Ryan being an ignorant poop head and all that but Ryan is not Eddie, Eddie is not Ryan. I will continue to Love Eddie Diaz and the Buddie ship and I will continue to write it because I love it. 
> 
> I linked the dance this fic is based on below, watching it will make so much more sense. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoCAvD5AWog
> 
> comments and Kudos keep me going in life! constructive criticism is welcome!

Let it be said that this was not Evan Buckley's idea. You may look at it and think, oh for sure, who else at the 118 would be ridiculous enough to come up with an idea like this one? It has to be the youngest and most impulsive firefighter. You would be incorrect.

The 118 were trying to raise money to get some new supplies for the firehouse and Bobby had asked for suggestions for fundraisers.

Eddie had been the one to suggest it. In his defence, he was suggesting it in complete irony. But still, he's the one who called out from his place on the couch, mouth partially filled with one of the cookies Buck had baked earlier in the day, "We should do a talent show,"

"Eddie that is a great idea," Hen had exclaimed. earning an affronted "what," from Eddie who had not been planning on the suggestion being taken seriously.

After that, no matter how much Eddie argued about the idea, and he argued about it a lot, both Hen and Bobby had stuck to it, and those two were the only two opinions that mattered apparently.

Buck had put up a show of unhappiness at hearing the decided upon fundraiser in a show of support for his best friend but secretly he was excited. Buck, unbeknownst to anyone else, actually had some hidden talents.

"Why are you so against doing a talent show Eds?" Buck finally asks when Eddie's grumbling got too much.

"Cause I don't have any talents! I'm not good at anything," They had been sitting on the couch at Eddie's, credits for some Disney movie playing on the tv and a sleeping Christopher between them. From Eddie's tone, Buck had the feeling that if Chris wasn't there, the words would have been shouted.

He feels his annoyance melt a little. "Eddie, just because you don't think your talents are applicable to a talent show, doesn't mean they're not still talents,"

"Yeah like what?"

"You're an amazing dad for starters, and you're really good at your job, and you're super talented at moving Chris from the couch to his bed without waking him up," Buck replies only partially joking.

Eddie stares at Buck and wonders to himself 'how on earth was i expected to not fall in love with this man when he says things like this'

Because Eddie had. Fallen in love with Buck that is. Not in that very moment, by that moment Eddie had been in love with Buck for so long that he couldn't remember what it was like to not be entirely in love with the younger man. Truthfully, if he has there and really thought about when he began to fall love with Buck, it probably would have been the first time he made Chris laugh.

Now, his love for Buck was just, there. It just existed, a phantom presence in his heart and soul; filling a hole he didn't even know existed.

No one had any idea why but Buck just seemed to do that, how he came into their lives and filled some empty space they didn't even know existed, whether it be a parental role for Christopher, a child-like role for Bobby, a brother-like role for Hen and Chim, a safety net for Maddie. Almost instantly, Buck made himself a permanent place in all of their lives and no one even noticed until after the fact.

They all loved Buck, it was impossible not to but Eddie, Eddie was in love with him.

A fact that Buck, sitting there on the couch beside him, was completely oblivious about.

"Why are you not more bummed out about this talent show thing? You got some secret talent you've been hiding from us all?" Eddie asks changing the topic instantly. Bucks pinkening cheeks and averted gaze don't go unnoticed by Eddie. "You do don't you? Come on, spill,"

Buck looks up, met with a soft fond look in Eddie's eyes and lips spread in a broad smile. "Back in high school, and college, and a little bit while I was with the SEALs, I uh, I danced, competitively," Buck says nervously. He doesn't need to look at Eddie to know his jaw has probably dropped and his eyes are most likely wide in surprise and when he finally does look up, he finds that he was right.

"What kind of dance?" Eddie asks as images of Buck dancing in ways that are definitely not appropriate for a highschool kid flit through his mind.

"Contemporary dance," Buck's voice cuts through Eddie's fantasies. "Hey if you really don't have a talent you can perform, maybe you and I can dance together?"

"Buck, that would be a great idea," Buck smiles at the praise, "If I knew how to dance," Eddie continues causing his best friends' smile to morph into a pout.

"I could teach you? Come on Eds, it would be so fun!"

Eddie could feel his resolve melting at the exited wide-eyed glee being readily displayed on Buck's face.

Somehow, a week later, Eddie found himself in roughly the same spot a week later, in his living room, this time without the couch, in fact, without any of the furniture as it had all been moved out of the way and into other rooms, while buck stood in front of him wearing flexible leggings and a loose singlet that showed off an absurd amount of his ribs and side.

"I can't believe I agreed to this," Eddie mumbles mostly to himself but apparently loud enough for his co-worker to hear if his response of "Honestly same," can be of any indication.

Buck had spent the last week choreographing the perfect dance for the two of them, the dance was intimate and soft to the 2014 song 'take me home' by Us The Duo. It involved a lot of lifts and touching and embracing.

If Buck was being completely honest, he didn't choreograph it that way for the effect seeing two good looking men being so intimate with one another would have on the audience, he choreographed it that way for the excuse to be up there feeling intimate with Eddie. He used the dance as an excuse to touch the man and to hold the man.

Having danced for so long, Buck was used to using his choreography to express his feelings, and this dance, any dancer who watched it would instantly know that the person who made it was thinking about the person they loved. Although, anyone who knew Buck -and wasn't completely oblivious- only had to see the look in his eyes whenever he looked at Eddie to know that.

Buck had done his best to make the choreography achievable for a beginner, giving Eddie the easier and more submissive part. To do most of the dance movies, all Eddie had to do was pretend to be dainty, basically. The part was full of soft steps and flowy movements while Buck had the harder part of performing most of the lifts. It made sense that he would be doing that, he was taller.

Buck demonstrates the first couple of steps that Eddie will need to do, feet not making a single sound as they glide across the floorboards with speed, his head tilted skywards and whole body relaxed.

And then Eddie tries.

Buck doesn't even hold back a wince as he watches Eddie attempt to dance across the room, looking more like a proud neanderthal with his chin up, stiff muscles and furrowed eyebrows.

It takes Buck mere seconds to realise that as graceful as Eddie appears at work when doing his job, that skill will not transfer into his dancing. And graceful, almost feminine dancing like Buck had planned, isn't an easy thing to teach. Not in the measly two months that they had before they were due to perform it in front of a live audience.

"Okay that's not going to work," Buck mutters to himself unintentionally loud enough for Eddie to hear, something the younger man definitely regrets as he watches Eddie flinch back at the insinuation of yet another thing he wasn't good at.

"Do you think you could lift me? Like, hold me in the air?" Buck asks, attempting to retract the insinuation his previous comment had given.

"I mean yeah, You don't exactly way much," Eddie says flexing his arm muscles that were on show in the tight navy t-shirt he was wearing and happily already back to his bantering ways. There was still some vulnerability there, but Eddie knew he was safe with Buck, that the other man would care for him and wouldn't judge him.

"What about catching me," Buck says walking up to Eddie slowly.

"I- I mean I guess?"

Buck walks up close enough so that he is easily able to grab Eddie's hands and place them on his own hips. "This is where you've got to catch me okay? I'm trusting you Diaz, don't you let me fall,"

Eddie was close enough now to Buck to see each individual long dark eyelash framing his beautiful blue eyes. Blue eyes that seemed to hold so much emotion, as if the words meant more that Eddie could know.

Suddenly Buck is stepping away from him, taking a couple of steps backwards. "When you catch me, follow the momentum to push me up," Buck demonstrates with his own arms. Eddie nods along nervously trying to convince himself that its not unlike catching Christopher and lifting him up into the air.

Buck takes a deep breath before gracefully -for lack of a better description- launching himself at his best friend.

If Eddie was going to drop him, Buck knew how to land as not to hurt himself, it had been a long time since he'd done it, but things like that became instinct. Regardless, he trusted Eddie to catch him.

And catch him he did. Eddie's fingers dig into Buck's hips as he lifts him up like the monkey in the Lion King does. Buck lets out a jovial laugh at the success of the lift before talking Eddie through gently lowering him back down.

"That was perfect Eds," Buck says once back down on solid ground.

"Recon we could win this?" Eddie asks, excitement lighting up his face in a way that just emphasises the similarities between him and Chris.

"Totally," Buck replies with a mirrored smile.

Buck teaches Eddie how to lead a dance, it's slow going but they get there, all while Buck re-choreographs the entire dance so that he'll be dancing the more submissive role. If he was any less of a man, it would be a blow to his pride.

They practice most days, both ending that month littered in bruises from slipping, tripping over one another and -on a few memorable occasions- being dropped.

One of those occasions, Chris had been there watching them dance and commenting on how they weren't very good at it; when Buck had gotten a little bit distracted by Eddie's eyes in one of the moves where he was supporting most of his weight and leaning over him, and Eddie, unable to hold the position much longer, even with Buck technically still holding him, had called to the ground.

This, of course, resorted to Christopher also falling on the ground because he was laughing so hard.

Those moments seemed to happen a lot in the dance piece, one or both of them getting distracted by the other, or rather their love for the other, especially when there was no music playing to queue them on to the next part.

"Fight scene?" Hen calls out her guess from upstairs when she sees Eddie walk into the fire station.

Buck and Eddie had unanimously chosen not to tell anyone else what their act was going to be, Maddie knew, obviously, something that annoyed Chim to no end. They had taken to attempting to guess what the talent would be, this guess was obviously spurred by the large bruise blooming on Eddie's chin where he had slipped and Buck hadn't been fast enough to catch him.

No one had even come close to accurately guessing what they would be doing. But regardless of that fact, Eddie had been promising everyone that he would beat them. That he and Buck would win.

Soon enough there was one single week left until they would be performing live. There was only one lift they hadn't perfected yet, Buck had been dropped on his back a couple of times and every other time, Eddie had chickened out.

It was a slightly ridiculous lift where Eddie had to have one arm across Buck's chest and another hooked around his thigh to swing him around him while spinning himself. It kind of reminded Eddie of the gold ring on the internet explorer symbol.

They started the dance, and right from the beginning, Buck knew this one was going to be a good one. They hadn't yet missed a beat, neither of them had tripped (Eddie) or slipped on a rouge sock (Buck courtesy of Christopher) like they had still been doing only a day earlier.

Buck could feel it in his bones, they'd finally got it.

He trusted Eddie, even though he had dropped him in the past, he know Eddie wouldn't let him get hurt, and today, he knew Eddie would be able to do it.

It was a simple step as Eddie grabbed Buck from behind. Buck felt the arms go around him and before he knew it, he was in the air.

It felt like when you're on one of those rides and you're swinging up into the air. It felt like that moment when you stop in the sky, just before you begin to plummet down to earth.

It felt like flying.

And when Buck's feet touched the ground with ease, he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips, even as they continued on with the dance, running it through almost perfectly.

All the way right to the end, both men have smiles playing on their lips. Right up until the final beat, when Buck's hands cup eddies face as they stare soulfully into one another's eyes.

They stand there for a moment, breaths mixing in the air between them. Eddie can't help but wonder, not for the first time, what it would be like to just lean forward and capture his friends' lips with his own.

Unbeknownst to Eddie, Buck's thoughts weren't much different, as his own eyes drop to his friends.

The clacking of Crutches draws the two back into the real world, neither of them having noticed the door opening but both oddly intuned into anything Christopher related. They pull away from each other and look up just in time to see Carla bringing Chris back from school. She looks o at them with a knowing smirk, taking note of their panting and sweat covered bodies. The close proximity, as if they had been too scared to take another step away, doesn't escape her notice either.

After that, neither of them are awkward like you'd expect. Instead, they give each other soft love-filled glances when they think the other isn't looking, even more so than usual.

For that week, they work hard on their dance, making sure it's perfect so they don't mess it up in front of everyone.

When it finally came to the night, people were packing the place they had hired, considering the fliers that Chim and Hen had made had featured pictures of Buck and Eddie, it wasn't entirely surprising.

Buck was wearing a white almost see-through shirt that kept catching eddies eyes while Eddie wore a darker almost charcoal one. Both had the top few buttons undone and had paired the shirts with soft dark pants.

In short, they looked good.

They watched from side stage as Chim did a magicians show, his awkward cape hanging limp behind him while Maddie in her sparkly dress assisted him.

Hen goes up there with a large hollow wooden thing that she calls a bassoon.

Bobby and Athena sing.

and before either of them know it, or are really prepared for it, it's time for Buck and Eddie to go up on stage and show everyone what they've been practising so hard for the past two months.

The lights dim, suiting the sombre mood of the music.

The first few beats echo out like bells in the large building, spurring Buck into the practised actions. His feet flit across the ground, his movements soft and fairylike to meet Eddie. Buck loses himself to the music, as he usually does, letting the notes flow over him and his emotions take a hold of his body. He moves with Eddie in perfect harmony, both perfectly in sync with one another and the music.

and then, it ends. "Take me home, to your arms," Echoes out into the silence before the final beats of the music are drowned out by the cheers of the audience, not that either of the men were even paying attention to the audience, too distracted by the mingling of their hot breaths in between them. Before the last note had even had a chance to finish Echoing, Eddie finds himself smiling at Buck, thoughts running through his head at a million miles per minute, before, rather impulsively closing the small gap between himself and Buck, connecting their lips.

The cheers get louder, Those of the 118 heard above all from side stage.

Eddie pulls away from Buck turning to the audience with a satisfied smile on his face, completely missing Buck's shocked one before he can school it into a smile.

They bow, bright lights preventing them from being able to see the people they're bowing to before making their way off stage.

"Buck," Eddie calls, adrenaline-fuelled excitement making him bounce on the balls of his feet like a child. His smile drops as he watches his best friend turn away from him.

"Buck hey wait, look I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"What you didn't mean it, Eddie? Yeah I know, that's the fucking problem, Kissing me didn't mean anything more than winning this damn talent show to you," Buck snaps, spinning around to face his best friend allowing Eddie to see the tears welling in his eyes.

"What Buck, come on! that is so not it!" Eddie says back with wide eyes. Eddie wasn't good with words though. He didn't know how to say to Buck what he needed to say, to tell him just how in love with him he was. And so instead, he grabs him by the collar, fingers making creases in the white fabric, and pulls him closer so he can press their lips once more in a bruising kiss.

Eddie doesn't hold back, pressing in as close as he physically can to the man he loves. and when they pull apart, its slow, neither wanting to completely break contact with the other.

"I picked that song for a reason Eds," Buck whispers, lips brushing Eddie's with the formation of each word. "I'm only happy when I'm with you, home for me is where you are, they're the first words in the song and Eddie, they're exactly how I feel about you. You, you and Christopher make me happier than anything, I love you both so much, I love you," He touches his forehead to Eddie's closing his eyes.

"I love you too Buck, we both do,"

"Boys," Bobby calls interrupting their moment. "It's time to find out who won," He gives them a knowing grin before making his way onto the stage, not looking back to check if the boys were following.

Buck follows his captain back out into the lights, pulling Eddie along behind him. Eddie wraps one arm around Buck's waist, the other thrown over Hen's shoulder. Buck has his own arms around both Eddie and Bobby as they and the rest of the 118 stand in a line waiting for the winner to be announced.

"In third place... Howard 'Chimney' Han and Maddie Buckley," the voice announces causing cheers to echo out.

"Second place... Henrietta Wilson!" Buck feels the breath catch in his throat, nerves making him grip on to Eddie tighter. "And first place, Evan 'Buck' Buckley and Edmundo Diaz,"

Buck freezes for a moment. They did it, they actually won. He turns to Eddie, watching him come to the same realisation as he lets out a laugh.

He turns back to the audience only to watch Carla helping Christopher climb up onto the stage. The kid crutches across the stage at a speed that can only be achieved from practice, and crashes into both of their legs.

Buck looks around him, eyes flitting from face to face, Chris, Eddie, Maddie, Bobby, the rest of his friends, his family. "We really won," Buck realises.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoCAvD5AWog


End file.
